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Antoine Godard

Activities

  specialist in nonlinear optics

  research director at ONERA

  scientific director of Physics domain of ONERA
 

 

 

 

Research activity

My work is focused on the understanding and implementation of nonlinear optical effects for the realization of optical souces and functions mainly intended to be integrated in optical sensing instruments. I am thus very involved in the development of optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), souces based on nonlinear three-wave mixing.

The applications of these OPOs concern more particularly the detection and analysis of gases by local or remote measurements. These works have led to technological developments of new patented devices which give rise to licensing agreements with industrial partners (Blue Industry & Science, Teem Photonics). I am also interested in more fundamental research topics with the study of quantum correlations between photons.

I have been involved in the mentoring of 21 PhD student, including 7 as an acaemic supervisor. I am the author of over 60 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, two patents, and I have received more than 30 invitations to international conferences,  h-index (October 2024): 24 (see Google Scholar).

 

Professional and outreach activities

I am the scientific director of the Physics domain of ONERA wich gathers about 530 researcher, PhD students, and postdocs. As such, I steer the research activities carried out by three scientific departments: Electromagnetism and radars; Optics and associated techniques; Physics, instrumentation, environment, and space.

I am also strongly involved in the scientific animation of the Plateau de Saclay. Since 2014, I have been a member of several bodies involved in defining and steering the Université Paris-Saclay, notably the Institut for the Sciences of Light, of which I was one of the four prefigurators and of which I am a member of the board. I also sit on the board of the Graduate School of Physics.

I am a member of the steering committee of the Optics & Photonics Hub of the Systematic Paris-Region cluster and I have been involved for several years in the steering committee of the CNRS CMDO+ network (Crystals, micro-nano-structures and optical devices).

I am the president-elect of the French Optical Society (SFO) for the period 2024-2026, and member of the European Optical Society (EOS) and Optica (formerly OSA, senior member).

I regularly participate in scientific committees of international conferences. In particular, I was Chair of the Nonlinear Optical Technologies committee of the CLEO conference in 2014 and 2015.

 

CV

Education, nominations

 

1998               

Degree of engineering from École Supérieure d’Optique (IOGS), Palaiseau, France
Master of Science in Optics and Photonics from Université Paris-Sud (UPSaclay), Orsay, France

2003               

Doctor of Philosophy in Physics from Université Paris-Sud (UPSaclay), Orsay, France with highest honours

2012               

Maître de recherche ONERA

2016   

Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches, French highest academic degree (accreditation to supervise research), Université Paris-Sud (UPSaclay), Orsay, France

2021               

Directeur de recherche ONERA

 

Work experience and appointments

2000–2003

Graduate research assistant at Laboratoire Charles Fabry, Orsay, France, in partnership with Photonics Division of NetTest, Les Clayes-sous-bois, France. Advisor : Dr Gilles Pauliat. « Stabilization of an extended-cavity semiconductor laser by use of self-organizing filtering  »

2003–2004

Post-doctoral researcher at ONERA, Palaiseau, France, at DPHY (formerly DMPH).

2007-2017

Research scientist at ONERA, Palaiseau, France, at DPHY.

2017-2022

Science Deputy Director of DPHY, department (140 persons).
Since 2022 Scientific Director of Physics Domain of ONERA (450 researchers, PhD students, and postdocs).

 

Conference committees and organisation
 

Committee chair

  • Optica/IEEE/APS Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO): Science & Innovations 4: Nonlinear Optical Technologies (2014, 2015)

Committee member

  • Optica Mid-Infrared Coherent Sources (MICS) (2022, 2024)
  • Optoelectronics and Communications Conference (OECC): Track (7) Biomedical and Optical Sensing (2020)
  • Optica/IEEE/APS Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO): Science & Innovations 4: Nonlinear Optical Technologies (2012, 2013)
  • Journée Nationales des Cristaux pour l’Optique (JNCO) (2009, 2011, 2013)

Topical workshop organiser

  • « Sources lasers et non linéaires pour l’infrarouge moyen » (Laser sources and nonlinear optics for mid-infrared) (2017 and 2022)
  • « Optiques et photoniques sur le plateau de Saclay » (Optics and photonics on Saclay plateau area) (2019)

 

Scientific boards, steering committees
 

Scientific Board of ONERA (since 2017)

Various bodies of Université Paris-Saclay (since 2014) :

  • Council and board of the Institute of Sciences of Light (since 2020)
  • Prefigurator of the Institute of Sciences of Light (2019-2020)
  • Concil of the Physics Graduate School (GS)  (since 2020)
  • Concil of PhOM « Physics of Light and Matter » Department as chair of « Optics » Board (2016-2020)
  • « Optics » Board of PhOM (member 2014-2016, chair 2016-2020)

Steering committee of Hub Optics & Photonics of Systematic Paris-Region business cluster (since 2019)

Steering committee of CMDO+ « Crystals, Micro-nano-structures and Optical Devices » network of CNRS (2016-2019)

President-elect of the French Optical Society (SFO, 2024-2026)

 

Teaching
 

  • Lecture on Gas sensing using parametric souces at the First International School on Parametric Nonlinear Optics (2015, Les Houches, France)
     
  • Optoelectronics course at CentraleSupelec (90 h) 
  • Optics laboratory sessions at IOGS (100 h)    

 

Selected publications
 

  1. A. Godard, G. Pauliat, G. Roseen, E. Ducloux, “Modal competition via four-wave mixing in single-mode extended-cavity semiconductor lasers,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 40 (2004) 970-981 https://doi.org/10.1109/JQE.2004.831639
     
  2. A. Godard, E. Rosencher, “Energy yield of pulsed optical parametric oscillators: a rate-equation analysis,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 40 (2004) 784-790 https://doi.org/10.1109/JQE.2004.828275
     
  3. F. Boitier, A. Godard, E. Rosencher, C. Fabre, “Measuring photon bunching at ultrashort timescale by two-photon absorption in semiconductors,” Nature Phys. 5 (2009) 267-270 https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys1218
     
  4. Boitier, A. Godard, N. Dubreuil, P. Delaye, C. Fabre, E. Rosencher, “Photon extrabunching of ultrabright twin beams measured by two photon counting in a semiconductor,” Nature Commun. 2 (2011) 425 (6 p.) https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1423
     
  5. B. Hardy, S. Berrou, S. Guilbaud, M. Raybaut, A. Godard, M. Lefebvre, “Compact, single-frequency, doubly resonant optical parametric oscillator pumped in an achromatic phase-adapted double-pass geometry,” Opt. Lett. 36 (2011) 678–700 https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.36.000678
     
  6. Q. Clément, J.-M. Melkonian, J.-B. Dherbecourt, M. Raybaut, A. Grisard, E. Lallier, B. Gérard, B. Faure, G. Souhaité, A. Godard, “Longwave infrared, single-frequency, tunable, pulsed optical parametric oscillator based on orientation-patterned GaAs for gas sensing,” Opt. Lett. 40 (2015) 2676–2679 https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.002676
     
  7. D. Descloux, C. Laporte, J.-B. Dherbecourt, J.-M. Melkonian, M. Raybaut, C. Drag, A. Godard, “Spectrotemporal dynamics of a picosecond OPO based on chirped quasi-phase-matching,” Opt. Lett. 40 (2015) 280–283 https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.40.000280
     
  8. J.-M. Melkonian, J. Armougom, M. Raybaut, J.-B. Dherbecourt, G. Gorju, N. Cézard, A. Godard, V. Pasiskevicius, R. Coetzee, J. Kadlcak, “Use of a long-wave infrared multi-wavelength optical source for standoff detection of chemical warfare agents,” Appl. Opt. 59 (2020) 11156–11166 https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.410053
     
  9. A. Godard, M. Guionie, J.-B. Dherbecourt, J.-M. Melkonian, M. Raybaut, “Backward optical parametric oscillator threshold and linewidth studies,” J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 39 (2022) 408–420 https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.445246
     
  10. J. Hamperl, J.-B. Dherbecourt, M. Raybaut, J. Totems, P. Chazette, L. Régalia, B. Grouiez, N. Geyskens, O. Aouji, N. Amarouche, J.-M. Melkonian, R. Santagata, A. Godard, C. Evesque, V. Pasiskevicius, C. Flamant, “Range-resolved detection of boundary layer stable water vapor isotopologues using a ground-based 1.98 µm differential absorption LIDAR,” Opt. Express 30 (2022) 47199–47215 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.472451